15 December 2012

‘Unlike Starbucks, Prince Charles doesn’t have to create some complex network of overseas companies and offices. He simply insists that he shouldn’t have to pay and hides behind his very own onshore tax haven.’

THE heir to the British throne has been reported to British
tax inspectors by campaign group Republic for what has been dubbed “a well
entrenched tax avoidance scheme” by his Duchy of Cornwall property empire that
beats Starbucks for its audacity.

Following an investigation by Republic into the Duchy, the
group has questioned why the property empire pays no corporation tax on its
multi-million pound profits, which are paid directly to Charles every year.

Republic has also written to Margaret Hodge MP in her role
as chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, asking her to investigate
the Duchy’s tax arrangements.

Charles has avoided corporation tax by claiming that there
is no legal distinction between him and his Duchy and that he already pays
income tax. However, as reported in Saturday’s Guardian newspaper, an information rights tribunal recently
ruled that the Duchy is a separate legal entity.

“In any other corporation, shareholders, owners and
employees must pay income tax while their company pays corporation tax. The
company is deemed a separate legal entity which has its own tax obligations.

“As with Starbucks and Google, there is a moral obligation
to pay a fair rate of tax.

“Unlike Starbucks, Prince Charles doesn’t have to create
some complex network of overseas companies and offices. He simply insists that
he shouldn’t have to pay and hides behind his very own onshore tax haven.”

“The Duchy clearly operates as a separate legal entity. It
is only in his possession for as long as he is heir to the throne or as long as
parliament allows it.

“The test is simple: if it quacks like a duck it’s a duck.
The Duchy operates as a separate corporate entity yet pays zero corporation
tax.

“For Charles the Duchy operates as his own personal tax
haven, depriving the public coffers of millions of pounds – money that could be
spent on public services. At a time when the country is under unprecedented
economic stress it is unacceptable that the heir to the throne is avoiding his
tax obligations in this way.

“We are taking this action as part of a renewed campaign to
challenge Charles’s lobbying, interference and abuse of public funds. He must
be taken to task over his questionable tax arrangements.

“The Government’s acquiescence in this matter raises serious
questions in light of the secret access Charles has to ministers.

“Charles doesn’t ‘earn’ the profit from the Duchy, it isn’t
money made as the result of his own hard work. And the Duchy cannot claim, as
the big corporations do, that it offers a net benefit to the economy. The Duchy
is simply a cash cow for the prince and the prince is clearly set on minimising
his tax contributions.”